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I really don’t know about this series. I know for sure that it WAS NOT good, but I don’t really know what to think about it and what exactly I liked and disliked about the series. I know that it looked really pretty and there were some beautiful moments, but many of these key scenes didn’t have a purpose that was fulfilled by how they looked. Its as if the show wanted to look nice just to look nice and the images didn’t enhance the plot as much as they should have.

Speaking of the plot, it was mostly hit or miss with both the ... first and second halves feeling weak in their own ways. The first half had some enjoyable parts but the main cast didn’t really mesh together in any real or believable way, and most characters didn’t have anything to really like about them. Many were bland and didn’t have much purpose aside from either being an obstacle or fulfilling an aside that fed into the main conflict. Kumiko was likable to an extent and received the most development, and I can really appreciate that she isn’t put into a certain mold and feels conflicting and layered enough that she feels the most real, but she was a character that would have been better served in a better plot.

The plot was, personally, the weakest part of the series in part to how inconsequential it felt at times, and how many of the surrounding elements did not service it in a meaningful way. What I mean by this is that many of the asides that the series which served to either flesh out the world, provide character development, or explain the situation in a practical way, didn’t seem to have much impact because the time spent developing these scenes did not, in turn, provide a similarly large effect on the world. Often the understandings of other characters to what is happening or the status quo does not change and it feels like most of these moments could have easily been tossed aside and it almost seems like they were. That is not to say that certain scenes such as Kumiko and Rikka on the mountain aren’t memorable, but that it instead feels like it came out of nowhere and disappeared without any real impact on what is going on. You could call it subtlety and say that development on these characters is meant to be subdued and realistic, but even in that case it doesn’t work because we do not spend enough time getting to know these people to really know how their feeling. Other than Kumiko who, admittedly, did believably change over the course of the series.

Aside from this, the series feels the need to shove all development down our throat with useless narration which often repeats to us things we could understand just by watching what is happening, and most of the time comes off as redundant and unnecessary which ultimately takes you out of the experience.

As a whole, the plot showed promise, particularly at the beginning where the destination and the obstacles were made clear and the possibilities of truly coming together while working towards something meaningful as a group seemed like what the series was aiming for, while emphasizing the attempted repair of an awkward friendship. The problem, I think, is that the series was too short. I faulted the series’ inconsequential asides but I believe if this same story was told over more episodes and we really got to know more members of the band then while seeing them all interact would have given the story more impact as we see how the events of the story matter to them and better understand what makes them who they are. Instead nothing feels like it really matters because as certain elements are introduced, they often don’t have a worthwhile conclusion or don’t add anything to the story. They may tell you more but not enough that you know why it matters.

As the story progresses certain events only add unnecessary drama or hold the overall plot back either because the whole story also has the misfortune of being largely predictable, and because they do not add any further tension when the stakes were clearly established and characters act in a way that defy what is best for everyone and holds everyone back.

Finally, and this is much more personal, I did not enjoy Kumiko and Rikka’s relationship. To be clear, most of the characters lacked meaningful relationships, but I did not see a reason to enjoy their’s in particular. Nor did I see any reason to justify them as a yuri pairing. NONE AT ALL. I am being entirely serious. None of their interactions in the beginning gave me any reason to believe either of them even liked each other nor do they even seem to get along most of the time. They just have vaguely romantic moments that serve no purpose and feel very out of place.

All in all, I don’t hate the series, but I do have many problems with it, and would easily say that it is my least favorite Kyoto Animation show of recent memory. I can give credit to Kumiko being likable enough to make some parts bearable, and for the ending actually feeling fulfilling. However, most everything else was not enjoyable and I began to actively dislike the show by the 3rd quarter. I didn’t like the characters, I didn’t like how the plot flowed, and while the show is beautiful, the art does not add anything nor do anything to bring you closer to the world. Its pretty but without substance.

Now here is where i begin my fruitless attempt to put into words what i actually thought of Hyouka. Which is actually harder than you may expect, because this is just one of those shows where i can’t really think clearly on what it was exactly that i like.

Well to begin I should mention what may be the most obvious; this is by far the best animated show I’ve seen all year. Characrers are detailed and had fluid motion, all the desighns were likable and it all added to that slight sense of realism that persists thoughout the experience. Background were all equally beautiful ... with bright colors or muted colors to to great effect when need. Even something that I had never seen before: a handheld shaky-cam effect, which impressed me to no end on just a technical level. This proved to be one of the main examples that i use when i argue thst anime has spoiled me in turms of 2D animation quality, it just looks that good, yet still manages not to be overbearing, and instead allows you to get immersed in the experience.

The more difficult thing to really pinpont and talk about (though i’ll probably end up talking alot anyway) is the story and characters. In my opinion characters are the most important part in any anime because they can make or break it independent of the plot. The plot can be a great or interesting idea, but if the characters aren’t at all interesting or likable I’m not going to enjoy the show as much. However this is definitely an are in which Hyouka excels. One of the things that one may consider essential in a plot-filled story is the idea of character development, that a characters have to grow along that story. Since this is more of a slice-of-life ( actually more than any other show ever, but I’ll get to that later) that same idea doesn’t apply and the growth has to be applied a bit more subtly, much more how it may seem in real life. If you look at yourself yesterday or a few days ago you may not see any substantial difference, but if you do the same a few years ago it should be more noticeable. And that is the case here; as you look on an episode-by-episode basis your not likely to notice all the changes, but look at the characters on the first and last episodes they are different. I won’t go into detail with everyone but take a look and you’ll see it. Above all else the characters are also very likable, or at the very least I liked them enough to come back each week. The girls were very adorable and the interactions between everyone felt very natural.

All of this also added to an over-arcing sense of realism. Besides the look an the characters the passage of time and structure of the “plot” made it feel like real life. From the introduction and as wells as various elements in the show itself you may have been lead to believe that this is a mystery show, perhaps in the vein of Scooby-Doo or Sherlock (awesome British show by the way) but I don’t really believe that this is the case since a major percentage of time is spent not solving mysteries but rather doing other things such as enjoying the school festival or going to an Onsen. Sure there are mysteries bu I never felt that it was the main focus outside of a few episodes or in other cases certain segments of certain episodes. It almost gave me that sense that Hyouka was confused and perhaps didn’t really know if it wanted to be mystery or straight slice-of-life. In the end I came to the conclusion that this may be one of the best adaptations of real life I seen in an anime, with an underlying theme of mysteries in order to tie the episodes together. Thing more or less seem to just happen in Hyouka usually without in sort of foreseeable meaning or reason to them, and events play out very naturally much like in real life. You don’t remember things that happen day to day, you remember big events or ones that mattered the most to you, festvals, vacations, or smaller events such as Oreki investigating his teacher or trying to prove to Chitanda that he can’t be trusted to solve mysteries. Real life also doesn’t have a clear plot or constant themes other than those you make for yourself. All of which is the case here; not much is consistent in terms of plot as you watch, and its not until you look back that you realize that had this been your life this may have been how you would remember it with all the subtle shifts and changes intact.

All of these changes and shifts made Hyouka a hard show to really give a rating for since I never had a clear idea throughout of what I was meant to look for or enjoy. In the end all that really matters is that I greatly enjoyed watching every episode and continued to maintain Kyoto Animation’s consistent quality standard.

Black Rock Shooter, a 4 minute PV made into an OVA. One may wonder how this can be possible, its pretty hard but Ordet gave it their best shot

The story of Black Rock Shooter is divided between two worlds, the world of BRS, and the real world. In the real world we get the story of Mato and Yomi, two friends who grow closer as time passes, and things are great until a new girl comes along begins to get friendly with Mato. This is a completely new story that seems to have nothing to do with anything related to BRS, its a slice-of-life story ... that actually stands well on its own. It does however feel like its going nowhere most of the time, and it kinda doesn't, not until the end at least. Its pretty enjoyable to watch even if at some point it feels like its trying too hard too be like 5cm per second. The problem with it seems to be that we don't really get any character development, despite taking place over a year, none of them really seem to grow, they all start somewhere, but end at the same place.

We also get the world of BRS, a desolate wasteland. In this portion we see BRS roaming around and fighting Dead Master, but really not much else. You don't really see any plot in this world, just shots of the surroundings, and fighting. The fight scenes are well choreographed but they are just too short and far in-between.

Which brings me to the main issue of BRS, over the course of the plot we switch between scenes of the real world, and of the BRS world. The problem is that too much time is spent on the real world and the friendship between Mato and Yomi, which isn't necessarily a bad thing, but we came expecting BRS, but we hardly get any of her, and when we do, her scenes are much too short and have the tendency to cut off when it starts getting good. This does however make you anticipate her next scene, even if its doing it in a pretty cheap way.

Visually this is a mixed bag, in the real world the backgrounds look pretty good as well as the characters, however its not really all that great, its not bad in any sense, but there are better-looking shows out there. In the other world however, the visuals are amazing, the backgrounds are beautifully drawn and the character designs are amazing. As I mentioned already, the fight scenes are amazingly done in terms of visuals, and in animation.

The best part is the sound, the cast does a good job playing their parts, but nothing spectacular. The soundtrack is what really won me over, with great music by ryo playing in both worlds. There is rock and roll playing during fights and it does a great job setting the mood, the same can be said for the melodies playing during the real world scenes, they set a calming mood for these scenes and even help immerse you in them. Unfortunately Black Rock Shooter (the song) doesn't doesn't play at all except for a piano rendition near the end, but the rest of the soundtrack, and the ending theme, are enough to make up for that.

Ultimately Black Rock Shooter feels like a rip-off, you come in hoping to see Black Rock Shooter (duh), but most of it is spent on a seemingly unrelated group of people (keyword seemingly). However this doesn't mean that you won't enjoy both stories, they're very enjoyable even if most of the time nothing happens, the BRS segments are really fun to watch, and the Mato/Yomi parts are pretty good themselves. Personally I enjoyed it, I love the song,the original PV, the 3D PV, and Supercell. I really was exited to see this, but i do wish there was more BRS scenes, but the visuals, sound, and better-than-expected sub-plot, made this a pretty good watch. A definite watch for those who anticipated it, and maybe even those unfamiliar with Black Rock Shooter.

The ending sucks though, but it does leave it open for a sequel